Show Me Chapter 1

Hello again, everyone! Welcome back to the republished sequel of "Turning Tables". I am happy to report that RL is going okay again and I am more than ready to get on with the story! Feel free to comment, subscribe and enjoy!

Date: January 12, 2019

A strong, steady music beat came from the closed door, pulsating throughout the entire house as itbecame stronger and more in tune. No one, not even the older woman sitting in the corner did anything for it as she simply continued worked on a sole for the shoe she was sewing. Coming from anyone else in the world, they would complain that the music was too loud, vulgar even. But as for Elena Rivera from Rivera Shoes, the pulsating noise didn't bother her.

It wasn't too long ago that music such as that had been banned in the Rivera house. And it all started with Imelda Rivera, Elena's abuelita. When Imelda's husband, Héctor, left to pursue his dream of sharing music with the world, he never returned. Left alone with a toddler, Imelda started up the shoe business as means to support her daughter, Coco, and banned all music from the house. No humming, no singing, no music of any kind. But that had all changed in 2017.

Miguel Rivera, Elena's grandson, had been harboring a secret love of music and after an argument with his family, ran away and wound up in the Land of the Dead. After an intense 9-hour journey, Miguel found out that not only was Héctor murdered by his best friend and world-famous musician, Ernesto de la Cruz, but also that he had never wanted to leave Imelda and Coco. A story that Miguel had repeated to his living relatives and, much to his astonishment, they believed him.

It had been a crazy year that year, proving who Héctor was to the world and trying to get justice for him, as well as help the Rivera family mend the rift that had been there for nearly a century.

As Elena put down the shoe she was working on, she decided to go in and look at the practice room. It used to be her mamá's room, but now it was a music room for her grandchildren and other members of the family who wanted to practice their instruments. At the sound of a shriek coming from the music room, Elena burst in, chancla armed and ready to be thrown. Instead she found a startled and somewhat sheepish Miguel.

"Abuelita?" Miguel asked nervously. "Qué pasó? Is everything alright? Did I do something wrong?"

"Lo siento, mijo," she said. "I heard the screech and thought something had happened."

Shaking his head, Miguel answered sheepishly, "No, Abuelita, Rosa was just tuning her violin and I startled her. By accident, I promise!"

Rosa looked annoyed but didn't say anything. After all, family (even the ones who annoy) comes first and it wasn't too long ago that things had been very different. She would never have been caught dead with a violin, especially not at home! But her 13-year old cousin had changed everything and brought music back into the home.

Now at 15 years old, Rosa was quickly turning into a family beauty with a secret love of American romance novels (especially Twilight) and playing her violin. True, she and Miguel still had the occasional fights but having grown up together in the same house, they treated each other more like siblings than cousins.

"Just try to be more careful, primo!" Rosa said with a tinge of annoyance. "I don't want to drop my violin!"

Affectionately peppering kisses onto her grandchildren, Elena smiled and said, "That's enough for now, mijos. It's time for dinner and I need you both to come and help me. We have company tonight. Señor Martínez and his niece are coming over!"

Cheering silently, Miguel and Rosa finished up the song they were working on and headed out, leaving four-year-old twins Benny and Manny, and 11-month old Socorro in the room with Elena. Shaking her head softly, Elena picked up her granddaughter, murmuring, "Those two are going to be the death of me some day, mija. But we all love them no matter what," as she headed towards the kitchen to start preparations for dinner.

When the family launched their investigation into Héctor's death, they had contacted a private investigator named Julio Martinez from México City, to come and help them. Now, he was assisting another family seeking justice for what de la Cruz did to them. But Martinez was still considered to be a part of the family and had stayed in touch with Enrique and Elena to inform them of the progress made in the case.

Dinner that night was a lively affair, Miguel firing off dozens of questions as his papá reminded him to slow down and let Señor Martinez enjoy his dinner. The others were chatting as well, mostly about Franco and Elena's upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. Franco had surprised Elena by signing them both up for dance lessons at the local church, something that everyone was excited about.

Later that night, as supper was winding down and the children went off to practice their instruments before bed, Elena and Enrique pulled Martinez over to the side. While Enrique was happy that everything was going okay in the investigation, Elena somehow knew that something was up.

"What is it?" Elena had asked, not beating around the bush. "You didn't just come for a dinner. There is something important going on, isn't there? With the case?"

"Mamá," Enrique warned as he touched his mother's shoulder. "Se bueno."

"I wish there was an easy way to say this," Martinez began slowly, wringing his hands nervously as he addressed Elena. "I've known you and your whole family for almost two years. I've helped put an evil man behind bars for attacking Miguel. I helped get a dead man justice for having his songs and his life stolen from him."

Sensing that Martinez was not telling the full story, Elena cut to the chase. "Just tell us, Señor," Elena said, taking deep, even breaths to control her temper. "Qué pasó?"

"Rodriguez's family is no longer cooperating with the investigation. They are pressing charges against me and Silvana and they want us to drop the case."